There is no longer any doubt that the institutional Roman Catholic Church in the United States existed in part—and likely still exists—as a vast conspiracy to obstruct justice in the crime of sexual assault by members of its clergy. If you ever wondered why the Church fought so hard to keep the civil criminal justice system at bay in regards to the criminals and deviants in its ranks, the report of the grand jury in Pennsylvania ought to clear that up for you.

If we'd had something like this in Boston, the late Bernard Cardinal Law would have ended his days at the MCI-Somewhere, instead of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Clean Getaway in Rome. FromThe New York Times:

The grand jury members documented a wide variety of abuses by priests and others within the church, as well as creative ways of covering up or denying accusations. “Even of those odious stories, some stood out,” the report reads. Those cases include a priest who the grand jury says raped a 7-year-old girl while visiting her in the hospital after she got her tonsils out. Another priest made a 9-year-old boy give him oral sex, “then rinsed out the boy’s mouth with holy water to purify him.”... The grand jury reported that it had uncovered a ring of predatory priests in the Pittsburgh diocese who “shared intelligence or information regarding victims,” created pornography using the victims, and exchanged victims among themselves. “This group of priests used whips, violence and sadism in raping their victims,” the report states.

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Nobody comes out of this clean. A succession of popes did little to stop it, and they had to know about it. The Catholic hierarchy is so riddled with accessories before and after the fact that a good case can be made for firing every cleric above the rank of monsignor. Too many cops and local prosecutors got talked out of doing their jobs because "Father" asked them to.

The hero here is Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro,who called the grand jury and turned it loose. Shapiro and the members of the grand jury stood for the truth, and for the victims of crimes dating back 70 years and involving some 300 priests and virtually the entire Pennsylvania Catholic hierarchy. The grand jury not only dissected a staggering array of sex crimes, it also took apart, piece by piece, the infrastructure within the institutional church by which those crimes were covered up. Again, from theTimes:

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First, make sure to use euphemisms rather than real words to describe the sexual assaults in diocese documents. Never say “rape”; say “inappropriate contact” or “boundary issues.”

Second, don’t conduct genuine investigations with properly trained personnel. Instead, assign fellow clergy members to ask inadequate questions and then make credibility determinations about the colleagues with whom they live and work.

Third, for an appearance of integrity, send priests for “evaluation” at church-run psychiatric treatment centers. Allow these experts to “diagnose” whether the priest was a pedophile, based largely on the priest’s “self-reports,” and regardless of whether the priest had actually engaged in sexual contact with a child.

Fourth, when a priest does have to be removed, don’t say why. Tell his parishioners that he is on “sick leave,” or suffering from “nervous exhaustion.” Or say nothing at all.

Fifth, even if a priest is raping children, keep providing him housing and living expenses, although he may be using these resources to facilitate more sexual assaults. Sixth, if a predator’s conduct becomes known to the community, don’t remove him from the priesthood to ensure that no more children will be victimized. Instead, transfer him to a new location where no one will know he is a child abuser.

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Finally and above all, don’t tell the police. don’t treat it that way; handle it like a personnel matter, “in house.”

That last one is the critical point in this scandal, and all the similar ones around the world. Under no circumstances allow the secular authorities to involve themselves in the crimes of the priests—unless, of course, the secular authorities can be convinced to look the other way, because the secular authorities are Good Catholic Boys and Girls.

Man, just fck that shit. As the grand jurors said in their report:

“Despite some institutional reform, individual leaders of the church have largely escaped public accountability,” the grand jury wrote. “Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades.”

The grand jury said that while some accused priests were removed from ministry, the church officials who protected them remained in office or even got promotions. One bishop named in the report as vouching for an abusive priest was Cardinal Donald Wuerl, now the archbishop of Washington. “Until that changes, we think it is too early to close the book on the Catholic Church sex scandal,” the jury wrote.

I must admit that this year, unlike others since I've come to Buffalo, my time away for R&R was clouded by the challenges we are facing right now in our diocese. Two in particular preoccupied my mind and troubled my heart. You won't be surprised by either: the tragic sexual abuse situation, which we are working determinedly to respond to and resolve, and the financial challenges that are the cause of the painful decisions to close Daybreak, our in-house television production ministry...

Well, I certainly am sorry Your Grace's mellow got harshed by the crimes of your priests, and I am sure their victims will be happy to know that the crimes committed against them rise to the painful level of having to shut down your television ministry.

This is a make-or-break moment for Papa Francesco. His papacy rides on it. Jesus once said of people who commit crimes against children that it would be better for them if millstones were tied around their necks and they were thrown into the sea. Works for me, Boss.

Charles P. Pierce, lead for Esquire Politics US, has been a working journalist since 1976. He is the author of four books, most recently 'Idiot America.' He lives near Boston with his wife but no longer his three children.